tampered | ACROSS THE UNIVERSE PARTY

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE PARTY

When; Evening, September 7th
Rating; PG-13
Characters; ~*~EVERYONE~*~ ~~tickets? What tickets? :P~~
Summary; will this change your world?
Log;

Here it goes again: another attempt at rising from obscurity.

Blair would not claim to know the intentions of every single person who attends today, but she thinks that beneath it all is just a hunger for significance. Today is supposed to be a chance to celebrate diversity, to see what other worlds are like, to show and tell, to envy what others have and to be grateful for what we have. Yet underneath it all, she is sure that we all just want to be acknowledged, to be set apart and to be special. Not just different.

Then she thinks she must be projecting. But if you knew no better then you would not notice nothing amiss.

From the ceiling of Victrola has been hung full-length translucent veils separating places and countries and worlds. Behind the quietness of Daventry are the muted bright lights of Barcelona and Buenos Aires, just beyond it is Krypton and on its other side are Russia and Camelot, Paris and Verona. Walk round and round through the many veils, and soon you will find yourself in the center of Victrola, Manhattan itself. Bias? What bias?

Now Blair is not dressed for attention today, all muted green and black, but you should find her easily if you follow the glint of onyx or the busy sound of heels walking quickly here and there.

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Sam was slightly nervous about the party, mostly because he was slightly nervous about how things would go with Hong Mei, just because they had such a serious talk earlier in the week.

Part of his nervousness was dispensed by his decision to go ahead and wear a cape with his suit. While it was slightly ridiculous he thought it at least made him feel rather dashing. He hoped Hong Mei didn't thing it was too stupid, but she didn't seem like the kind of girl to mind. He hoped.

As it was, he waited for her to show up so he could escort her properly.

Blair would never have thought that the man in the cape was Sam, but then again she could not think of anyone else who would wear a cape to anywhere but a Halloween party. He must have missed the memo.

"Sam," she said, almost blurting out a demeaning comment of some sort before remembering that there was the unwritten deal between them now. If she acted the bitch in front of him then he wouldn't help her with the surprise she had planned for Serena. "Uhm." Now coming up with a compliment did not come naturally to Blair. "What's with the cape?"

Hey, she tried.

Okay, so maybe he had also warn the cape in hopes that it would mortify Blair Waldorf. It was kind of a petty thing to do, but in his mind Blair and petty went hand in hand. Of course, after their last conversation over the network he was wondering if she wasn't quite as shallow as a puddle.

"Capes are dashing," he said, as if this was the sort of thing everyone should be aware of. "A lot of cultures wear them."

The answer earned him a slight raise of her eyebrow. She was having difficulty deciding if he meant that as a joke or if he truly and honestly believed capes were an it choice of clothing. He looked like a walking tragedy. Now Serena might manage to find something nice to say about that, but not Blair. "Not in cultures that are against cannibalism and the drinking of blood, they don't."

That might have sounded slightly mean. As if to put some salve on the wound, she gave him a sweet smile.

"Where's Hong Mei?"

"Really?" he said. "I'm really misinformed about the eating and drinking practices of the Victorian Era then. I'll have to ask my friend the Earl of Hargreaves, who I'm pretty sure I've seen wear a cape, about that."

The sweet smile would have been a comfort if she hadn't asked a question that might have implied "because I don't see her with you" after it.

"And she's coming."

Blair crossed her arms in front of her, tapping her heels in a display of impatience, but there was still a smile on her face --Or a smirk. "He can pull it off," she said, with the implication of 'you on the other hand.'

However she did not mean to imply anything by her questioning him about Hong Mei. She was just curious as to how she looked like. "Well then, congratulations~" He did say that there was a chance she might have turned down his offer.

Sam held up a finger to indicate that Blair should wait a moment and with a bit of a flourish he undid the cape and pulled it of.

"Pulling. It. Off."

With that, he put the cape back on his shoulders and fastened it again. He was somewhat sad that Rosella wasn't there to see that, as she would have thought it funny.

"And thanks, but we'll see how it goes," he said. "You know, dating a girl from another country and time period and all."

"You know," Blair narrowed her eyes at his challenge. "If you wanted me to be nice, you might want to tone down the attitude too."

At his comment about Hong Mei though, she shrugged, leaning back on her heels. "It always feels like you're from different universes anyway." She would have chuckled at the pun she unintentionally made, but that would show him that she has a similar sense of humor as he did. Fat chance. "As long as you treat her like a decent guy would," she said pointedly.

"It was a joke," Sam said, rolling his eyes. Blair must not have been into humor, which didn't really surprise him.

"Different universes I have experience with," Sam said. "But not different countries and times. But she seems to think I'm okay."

Hong Mei was running a bit late that night, having spent a good amount of time staring at her wardrobe, wondering whether or not parties and her heritage were, perhaps, mutually exclusive. At least, parties of the sort that Sam had invited her to, those with a steep ticket price and champagne flutes passed around the invitees. Her school uniform wouldn't work, her military uniform even less so, and in the end Hong Mei had decided to rely on her own needlework--a dress of her own fashioning, and at Robin's recommendation, a Chanel chain belt and red Miu Miu heels to complete the effect.

The apologies were already on the tip of her tongue as she managed to convince the guards that she'd been invited, thank you very much, and rushed over to find Sam, although Hong Mei hesitated upon realizing that there was another girl next to him. One whose beauty and dress made her pause just a little, feeling a bit ragged by comparison.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Blair replied to Sam's eye roll with another killer glare, but at the sight of a girl approaching them, her face lit up into a sweet smile. There was no need to scare off all her guests.

"Why, you must be Hong Mei~" The girl was very pretty indeed. She had convinced herself that his thing with Mikaela was a fluke, but it was starting to seem as if it wasn't. While Hong Mei may have felt insecure about her dress, Blair herself was feeling rather outshone by her. It was always the case that other girls seem as if they were lit from within, all sunshine and sweetness, while Blair was just-- Blair.

"We were just talking about you," she sent a pointed glance at Sam, before turning back to Hong Mei and offering her a hand in greeting. "Blair Waldorf."

When Sam saw Hong Mei, he couldn't help but get a bit of a goofy smile on his face. She really was very pretty, even if she didn't think so. The red dress looked very good on her and the matching heels complimented her very well.

Completely ignoring Blair, he turned to Hong Mei.

"Knee hon peeow lang," he said, speaking slowly and wincing as he already knew that he had butchered the phrase.

Two steps forward, but still one back, Hong Mei couldn't help but think as she finally broke into a smile in front of the other two. She was still feeling out just exactly how much of her sentiment she really wanted to show at any given time, and the answer in a place like this seemed to lean towards none at all--this was a different place and age, and there were different expectations of people here than there were back where she lived. Smiles were status quo, and everything was incredibly nuanced, sugar-coated, in a way that would have drawn wary eyes back in China. In many ways, it was fun getting to act in this way, although disheartening when few seemed to realize that it really was, after all, an act.

Hong Mei almost broke into a laugh at Sam's attempts to compliment her, but instead she kept a fairly straight face, and made sure to respond to her host, first.

"I hope he hasn't been saying anything too awful about me," she replied, with a slight grin. "But yes, I'm Hong Mei-- it's an honor to meet you, Blair. I hear that you're the one who organized this party? Really impressive, if you ask me, for someone of your age. I couldn't imagine putting all this together, not even if someone gave me months to plan ahead."

The greeting complete, Hong Mei turned slightly and rose a brow at Sam, although her cheeks flushed just a tad, and appropriately so.

"Sam, I thought we already talked about flattery. And maybe you should translate for Blair-- or maybe even me, as well," she laughed, hand cupping the back of her neck, feigning embarrassment.

In revenge, Blair ignored Sam, hard as that may be with his excruciatingly horrendous attempt at Chinese. Still her smile did not waver as she graciously accepted Hong Mei's compliment. Not five minutes had passed and she was already liking the girl. "Practice helps~" but she actually meant you can be perfect only if you were already born that way, obviously.

Having done her part in harassing Sam about his cape and finally meeting the elusive Hong Mei, Blair decided it was time to leave them to themselves. "Well, I should be going. Do enjoy the party." She made a point to smile sweetly at Hong Mei while violently swatting away Sam's cape as she turned and left.

Sam was perfectly content to be ignored by Blair. It seemed he was rewarded by a swift departure, accompanied by one last swat at his cape. He'd have to remember to wear a cape to every party that Blair threw if it got that kind of reaction from her.

"We did talk about flattery," he said. "You told me to stop and I didn't agree to stop. Did I mangle it too badly?"

Representing Daventry for Blair's party had been more of a challenge than Rosella had expected, but that was in large part because no amount of decoration could make the scene live up to the memories that she could recall so clearly in her mind's eye. Capturing those memories and turning them to reality was no easy task, and even now, she's not entirely sure she managed it. What makes her kingdom remarkable? Or at least, what would make it remarkable, to someone that had never seen it before?

That, at least, she has a good idea about, since she's had visitors to Daventry in her dreams before.

And so the scene of Daventry is the view from the sky--or, more specifically, from the edge of the Land of the Clouds. Here, the footing is always sure, but gauzy imitations of clouds still cover wide portions of the floor, creating the illusion that a single misstep could send the viewer tumbling through the sky toward the countryside below. And the rest is hues of green and blue--rolling hills, cool lakes and patches of forest, the River Fools slicing through the midst, and there, off in the distance, the slightest glimpse of Castle Daventry. Her home.

As for Rosella herself, tonight she looks the part of a princess in her court gown (http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/Fortunes_Wings/Polychromatic/lily-renn1wb.jpg) and glass slippers (http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/Fortunes_Wings/Polychromatic/20080401202927Glass_slippers_at_Dar.jpg), with a tiara in her hair and a smile on her face. She likes parties, after all, and this one is no exception.

She has been flitting from one world to another, making sure that everything is going according to plan. Apparently, most people has no idea how to uphold standards that are acceptable to Blair Waldorf, but Rosella is not one of them. Walking through the veil with a checklist in hand, an easy smile graces her lips at the sight that meets her. "Impressive."

Blair turns a glance at her friend. "And I mean you, too."

There's something pleasant and refreshing about the sight of Blair with a checklist, silly though it might be to think so. And while a single word of praise might not seem like much, Rosella has seen enough of Blair's talent with parties to know that nothing less than perfection is acceptable; "impressive" is a compliment all in itself.

"Everything looks so lovely, I'm glad for the chance to be a part of it," she answers, returning the glance with a smile of her own. What a pair they must make, side by side at that moment--princess of Daventry and queen of the Upper East Side. "And your dress is beautiful! I can't think of a nicer tribute for your friend Holly than all this."

Sam had gone with a plain black suit and tie with a white button up shirt underneath. As well as a black cape with red lining, to make him a bit more dashing. Or to annoy Blair and make Rosella laugh.

It was easy to spot Rosella, tonight looking every inch the beautiful fairy tale princess she was. It was enough to make him feel sheepish for ever doing things like throwing water balloons at her while she was up in a tree.

"It looks incredible," Sam told his friend as he walked up to her table. "And you look amazing. You really did a fantastic job."

For Rosella, who was considerably more accustomed to seeing Sam around the Warehouse in jeans and T-shirts, the effect of the suit and cape really did come off as quite dashing. And a little ridiculous, of course, but a dignified sort of ridiculous. Whimsical, perhaps, was a good word for it. Playful. Lighthearted.

Well, in any case, no matter what word was applied to it, Sam looked good and that was all there was to it.

"It did come out rather well, didn't it?" she answered, giving her space a pleased glance. "Not quite the same as real clouds, but considerably safer, I think!"

Then, turning back to Sam, she flashed him a wide grin. "Are you enjoying your cape? You really do look terribly dashing in it."

"Yes, actual clouds might have been a bit problematic," Sam said with a smile. Although he bet if she had more time, she would have managed to create actual clouds somehow.

"And I love my cape," he said, practically beaming. "I feel like I should have a rapier and a mask too though."

"Well, only a bit. It's harder to tell where the safe parts are when they're real clouds, after all." Which made her smile, actually, thinking of the time when so many of her friends had visited the Land of the Clouds in her dreams, and how exciting it was, to have the chance to show her homeland off. This wasn't quite the same, of course, but it was close.

"The rapier I can understand, but why the mask?" she asked, stifling a giggle.

"So I can be a dashing highwayman, of course," Sam said, looking as her as if the answer should have been incredibly obvious.

Although maybe in Daventry they had actual highwaymen and they didn't look like that. Actually, if Daventry had highwaymen they'd either be men made out of highway or men who worked on the highway.

"Oh, you want to be a bandit. I see how it is," Rosella answered, playfully sticking out her tongue at him. "And will you rob from the rich and give to the poor, while you're at it?"

"I'll rob from the royal family of Daventry," Sam replied, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"They can afford it, they've got a magic chest you know."

"The royal family of Daventry does not take lightly to bandits in their domain, regardless of whether or not their magic chest allows them to afford it," she retorted, trying not to laugh as she did so. "So do beware, or I'll have to summon my bravest knight to handle you, sir."

"I'm not afraid of your knights!" Sam said, sticking his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out. Who said fancy parties had to be boring?

"Well, you should be," Rosella replied, folding her arms over her chest as she tossed her head, a little defiantly. "And more fearsome still shall be if I refrain from summoning my knights, and choose instead to deal with you myself, sir."

Sam held up his hands in defeat at that.

"Well, I'll have to concede then," he told her. "You look like more than I could handle."

Rosella's eyes lit up at that, and for a minute, the facade was broken. "Do I really?" she laughed, shifting back and forth a little to make the skirt of her dress swish from side to side. "I'll take that as a compliment, I think!"

"Oh definitely," he said, smiling in response. She was obviously pleased to hear that. "You're more than any highwayman in his right mind would want to take on. More trouble that you're worth, for sure."

"Mm, I don't think I'll be taking that one as a compliment, though," Rosella said with a wrinkle of her nose. "I'd prefer to think I'm worth every bit of the trouble, thank you very much."

She briefly glanced around the room, looking for any familiar faces--and one in particular. She'd only met Hong Mei once, really, but she still thought she'd be able to pick her out again if she saw her. "But how have things been so far this evening? Are you and Hong Mei having a good time?"

"Okay, that's true," Sam said with a laugh. "You're worth all the trouble and then some. By far."

Sam followed Rosella's gave around the room until he realized who it was she was looking for.

"Oh, we're having a good time," he said. "At least, I think we are?"

"You think you are?"

That was a little surprising to hear. What could possibly have gone wrong at a party like this, that one couldn't be sure about having fun or not? Perhaps Hong Mei was shy and didn't like parties?

"Well, that's good, I'm glad to hear you're having fun. Or that you think you are, anyway. Does she like your cape, too?"

"Well, I'm having a good time and i think she is too," he explained. "So I think that together, I think we're having a good time. Heh, and she hasn't really said a whole lot about the cape."

"Well, it's a dashing cape and don't let anyone tell you differently," Rosella answered, smiling. "And I can't imagine anyone not having a good time with you around, so I'm sure she's enjoying herself, too."

"I'm glad you like it," he said, glancing back at the cape and smiling. "And I'm sure there are a few people who wouldn't have a good time with me. Megatron? He would be soooo upset if we showed up at the same party."

"He never struck me as the sort to enjoy himself at parties anyway, regardless of whether or not you were there as well," she replied thoughtfully. "So really, you can't possibly be held responsible for that."

"Oh man, can you imagine if he showed up in a cape too?" Sam asked, trying to look and sound properly mortified. "How embarrassing."

"Why, that'd just be a travesty!" Rosella said, putting on an aghast look of her own and delicately covering her mouth with one hand. "One of you would have to go straight home and change, and that's all there is to it."

"It should be him," Sam said with a definite nod. "That would be way too big of a cape for a party. If he turned, he would knock everyone over."

"And then once he left, we could lock all the doors and refuse to let him back in to the party?" she suggested, trying not to laugh.

"I think it's just best to let him come if he wants to come," Sam said. "He'd just pitch a fit if you didn't. And no one wants a cranky Megatron."

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ACROSS THE UNIVERSE PARTY

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I DON'T THINK YOU REALLY ARE!

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